Marcus Bullard was sentenced to prison on this date in 1996. Earlier that same year Bullard had been the star point guard on the only Mississippi State Final Four team in program history, averaging 8.6 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Bullard was accepted at Mississippi State despite his high school arrest for selling crack cocaine, and then a second arrest for possession while on probation.
This time he had been arrested for pistol whipping someone at a party. He was sentenced to two years in prison and served one. Following his release he declined an offer to return to school but not play basketball for a year, for – as his surrogate father said – he had already paid his debt to society.
He declared for the 1998 NBA Draft, but did not catch on with a team, despite interest from a few. He played overseas for a few years, and then back in Mississippi was twice stopped for traffic violations and was found to be in possession of cocaine first, and then ecstasy. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Julius Keye passed away on this day in 1984. Keye played for South Carolina State and Alcorn State, and then became an ABA All Star. When he was 38 he suffered an epileptic seizure, and died from injuries sustained during that event. He was 38.
Today’s birthdays include: John Murphy 1924 (Cal), Whitey Bell 1932 (NC State), Gene Guarilia 1937 (George Washington), Charlie Hardnett 1938 (Grambling State), Willie Murrell 1941 (Kansas State), Charles Hentz 1947 (Alabama A&M), Curtis Perry 1948 (Missouri State), Jim Cleamons 1949 (Ohio State), Ed Sherod 1959 (VCU), Anthony Jones 1962 (Georgetown and UNLV), Brad Johnson 1968 (Florida State), Johnny Rhodes 1972 (Maryland), Brian Evans 1973 (Indiana), Travis Knight 1974 (Connecticut), Curtis Borchardt 1980 (Stanford), and Sean Williams 1986 (Boston College).
